Standing Cycling Race | Can We Climb Like Alberto Contador?

[@Lasermanprint]

Emma wins but gracefully gives the win to everyone - legend!!!!

[@robbchastain3036]

And I like Ollie's award--the longest time out of the saddle. That's diplomacy.

[@KandiKlover]

Well that is insanely hard to do so it is impressive they all managed to stay up.

[@LUCYDIAMONDBOXER1]

I spent 8hrs out of the saddle once!.... I was at work, bike was in the garage.

[@M4TF1]

Damn it! You beat me to that joke 👏👏👏

[@LUCYDIAMONDBOXER1]

@@M4TF1 😁also, no bananas were harmed in that 8hr effort.

[@shaunoakman5609]

Like a boss

[@paulysci925]

Lol😂that's rich!

[@unclej3910]

ROFL! :)

[@CreRay]

One of the most enjoyable GCN video's ever! Emma is and will always be my hero, an absolute delight to see her climb, and a huuuge inspiration for me personally. So no excuses Emma, this is a compliment, accept it! 4:13 Ollie put exactly into words how I feel, although I'm afraid his power is still twice that of mine... still, I'm working on it:-) Can't wait until spring arrives, I want to go back to the Dolomites, enjoy the beautiful surroundings, and see how long I'll last out of the saddle.

[@usget]

I CANT FEEL MY ARMS!! AND IVE GOT A RUNNY NOSE!! One of my favourite lines from any GCN video 😂

[@gonefing1234]

@Jafar - "the siborg... mouth open so the lizard operator can see up the road ahead"

[@hornetluca]

Can _Contador_ climb like any _GCN presenter_ ?

[@gcn]

Not yet. But if he stops riding for the next 5 years he might get close.

[@edmundscycles1]

You mean failing to clip in or out then laughing as he falls on to a grass verge?

[@joenne]

no, making faces like lasty

[@tempaccount2585]

We all know Emma easily won, but what impressed me was Travolta. For a sprinter and most likely the heaviest rider, he did really well.

[@nathanphillips875]

You guys could do presenter challenges for every video and I’d be happy 👌🏻

[@frozenlkea6188]

Is it me or does it look like Emma isn't even trying 😂

[@jmax9782]

Emma makes climbing look marvelous!

[@Jack42Frost]

Anyone who has had their saddle stolen knows...

[@kapitenjek]

Jack42Frost or broken seatpost..

[@russwright]

@@kapitenjek Yes, been there!

[@MTBXCSKI65]

Anyone who has had BAD saddle sores also knows...

[@KandiKlover]

Also Trials MTB riders and BMXers.

[@randyisrad]

This is the kind of content I like from GCN, please do more of these!

[@janjanboquia6738]

"C'mon chaps anti-doping banana control" 😅

[@KandiKlover]

Imagine the people driving by just seeing that lmao

[@sumanthkashyap8366]

This is bananas!!! Great video guys...

[@jonburnell532]

🤣👍

[@clairelaw4522]

6:05 TFW Emma kind of smiles when Chris mentioned that she wasn't even trying

[@MrYotuner]

The Jura Mountains in northwestern Switzerland, where I live (gradients of up to 25%, maybe Emma knows them: Weissenstein, Balmberg ... ), don't allow me anything else than out of the saddle climbing style, from bottom to top. Unfortunately it never (never!) looks Contador-Style with me (more than dying a hard, very hard dead on a bike...). Wishing all of you a good start into a great 2019, keep up your amazing work, it's always a huge delight watching your videos and learning from you (thank you very much).

[@star.admiral]

I really enjoyed watching the team work together in this video, despite the subject being a competition. You got a real sense of each rider's strengths, weaknesses, and sense of strategy (their overall humanity). It's refreshing and inspiring in a world where so often road cycling, and the athletes that compete in it, is portrayed and marketed as something elite and out of reach for people like you and me, and perhaps distorting of the image we have of ourselves and others as athletes. Aside, a great use of classic GCN humor with the bananas. Nice touch!

[@petinka721]

Never done that long but I train at being better in that and now in winter time it is a part of my training. I am not surprised Emma won since that look so natural when she ride out of the saddle. She is a female Contador! Thanks GCN and Mery Christmas at you all and all who follow you.

[@peterscuba]

Emma is the lightest by far which is a big advantage

[@markburrows4158]

Without the Dodgy Steaks of course...

[@angelchavez708]

Chris is climbing like Pantani, that's sick. Emma i can't imagine GCN without you anymore 😊

[@adamallen1622]

I've followed GCN since getting back into cycling 3 years ago. Great channel just a shame to loose Mat. Just to comment on your Contador challenge. Before this video was published I had tried your training vids with fairly good success but towards the middle of 2018 I was amazed by the fact that Contador trained out the saddle for 20 mins ( video with Mat ). I now do a session that consists of an 8 min warm up,8 min out the saddle,8 min soft peddle,8 min out the saddle,8 min cool down to 60 to 70 rpm/bpm music. This has transformed my Sat club rides when climbing. Maybe you could do a future training video that could be similar. Cheer Adamski

[@Norman92151]

Emma didn't even break a sweat. All very entertaining and funny. Thanks to all you guys and gals.

[@bobbysilver272]

A fantastic effort Emma and guys. Well done. PLEASE, PLEASE, all do a Time Trial episode.

[@RGCastro7]

I greatly enjoyed this video. The entertainment value was super high, and it left me wanting to recreate the challenge with some of my friends. Thank you, Presenters, for suffering in the name of entertainment.

[@RoryMacdonald-pfff]

Brilliant and fun video - clearly Emma won! 👏

[@matthewboswell2494]

The banana is all well and good, but removing the saddle and leaving the seat post protruding would definitely stop me sitting down

[@jeffreywilliams3646]

Actually, that really sounds like a bad idea. If GCN has lawyers, they're probably having kittens over that.

[@chriscolabella880]

For good measure you could cover the top of the seapost with a hollowed out courgette.

[@Swampster70]

@@chriscolabella880 Or a cactus.

[@arbejde7281]

I didnt even need to see the race to know who would win and be 2nd :P Glad Emma showed them.

[@JonCannings]

First ride when I lived in Lanzarote... Broken seatpost. 80km out of the saddle....

[@oraszuletik]

Jon, sometimes it's good to know someone involved in bike tech, isn't it?

[@mitchrapp9727]

how come you're not included in these challenges? I'd like to see you on the bike more and not just in the studio talking tech.

[@JonCannings]

@@mitchrapp9727 good idea Mitch

[@emmapooley433]

Mitch Rapp sshhh we’re trying to keep him in the workshop talking tech because he would kick our @rses in all these challenges.

[@richardpowell3266]

My seat post failed on a mountain biking holiday. I rode for 3 days out of the saddle. Thankfully I had been doing Emma Pooley’s core strength workout twice a week in the lead up, and I made it through.

[@ronbell7920]

That was just a great challenge! Awesome job and a very entertaining video. This is why GCN is my first go to when I fire up my computer for entertainment!

[@allena3430]

I remembered trying to follow contadors climb style back when i did hill trainings. I kinda enjoyed going out of the saddle for 15 mins more than sitting. If you do it often, it should be pretty easy. This excludes the power and speed contador has.

[@pahouseholder]

Emma is THE best. Her smile as she blows by the guys seemingly effortlessly half way up.

[@lisapet160]

More viodeos like this! Here is the second XC skiing tip for Emma. Easy to memorise for her, even thought she used to be self-admitedly pushy toward rivals: pull (Pooley), not push with the poles. All propelling has to be done with the core (abdomen mostly) muscles with hands bent in elbows at 90 degrees. Lean body forward (like in running), place the poles tips just in front of the shoes (same as placing the feet under the center of gravity when running), the feet should have elevated heel (like in running at the ground contact), pretend like going out of saddle on a bike with the elbows held at 90 degrees... that will make the pull. When the pull complete, just retrieve the hands (make them relax and rest before the next stride) for the next pull. You can practice it on the inline roller skates, but better - consider looking for roller skis (make the off season x-training UK-compliant).

[@Fewawidood]

I once had to ride 5 miles to work, but my dad took the road bike, and the only bike left was a mountain bike without the seat+seatpost. My legs were pretty sore for a few days, and my neighbor saw me on my ride back home, pretty confused about what I was doing.

[@MVProfits]

The Contador video happened to be the first GCN one I saw, and remains my favorite of yours to this day. His interaction with Matt and his style made it a classic. I still use the "You tired?" line to others and myself - in his tonality too. And I vividly recall him saying he did 20 minutes out-of-the-saddle bits in training. Was he fully accurate? We know he can do it, that's for sure.

[@PaulJakma]

Go Emma... Looked like she was just sitting in with the lads for the sake of the video too - could have put a lot more distance into them if she'd wanted. Pure class. ;)

[@siddharthchavan1224]

You guys pulled it out perfectly, kiddos to u all, the pain u took inspired us to get out and pull uphill.

[@Kzuke]

This was a fun video to watch! It was cool seeing some ex pros have fun with each other in this challenge. More please!

[@leqin]

This video makes me feel so happy and, as I suspected, Emma is a little monster who never gives up. Great fun and great video and well done all.

[@david131092]

Out the saddle I’ve found that Pedaling at a lower cadence will reduce fatigue maybe 65-70rpm unless you’re trying to accelerate - you go further with less lactate build up. A common technique for Hill Climbs.

[@chrispig7748]

Emma you are pure class!

[@AaronGoodTimes]

It is great seeing everyone have fun.

[@conanfa18]

Emma is such a Stud-ette!!! Can you guys upload some of her pro races???

[@tumbleweedking5668]

Compare her power against any top 10 euro pro men, not that impressive!

[@douglaspate9314]

Actually they're difficult to find on KZbin. You should see her when she wins the World TT Championship. kzbin.info/www/bejne/eHTLmoVve8pjd6s Awesome!!

[@ProfessorSteez]

Scott Falkner not when you take into account she weighs 46-48 kg....

[@antred11]

@@ProfessorSteez Wouldn't being lighter work in her favor?

[@CautionBeforeCoffee]

Scott Falkner no shit... that’s why we have gender specific races

[@darrenhill8503]

Emma the smiling assassin lol

[@shaunhoulahan4080]

That was brilliant. Emma is a climbing machine.

[@markmiller4414]

Loved this! Loved Emma's smile. She makes it look easy! Turns out I routinely do 20+ mins standing on level and climbs. Agree with Si...it is a matter of finding good balance between high enough gear to keep cadence low but not so low you have to pull on the bars to bring each pedal stroke through. ~60 rpm cadence is about right for me. On level, that means I am in last 3 highest gears, depending on winds. BTW...forgot to mention, Lon Haldeman, RAAM rider, was famous for riding out of the saddle for hours on end.

[@BhavaSindh]

Your show has such a high entertainment value and it's on bikes! Thank you for that!

[@johncitizen2007]

8:10 ... and listen to the creaking BB... got to love it😂

[@chrisflywheel]

Merry Christmas! Great episode! This reminds me of a situation a few years ago: I had a pimple at a special spot. It was so inflamed that I couldn't sit. In order to be able to train anyway I had to ride a four hour ride completely out of the saddle :-))))

[@truetierra]

Emma! What a machine! Great challenge gcn 😁

[@remitournier2526]

Chris in a sprinting position when climbing, you are my hero

[@tychoMX]

The "Marco Pantani Challenge" :)

[@mosquitotigre7078]

I climbed the Tibidabo hill in Barcelona out of the saddle so many times. About 25 minutes of climbing

[@TurneyUK]

Perfect rainy Sunday morning viewing 👌 scientist Oliver saving some weight

[@robbchastain3036]

But he should've gone aero without the saddle.

[@dalesandyschwenning1196]

Brilliant video! Was on the edge of my seat from start to finish!

[@sebandimatang6706]

Finally, at last. The video that I always waiting for. Great video guys. Maybe for next presenter challenge they should call it "The Cavendish Challenge". 😁

[@phillwhitlam6999]

Awesome Pooley strikes again.

[@JP-om3ou]

7:55 I hear creaky bb90's

[@JP-om3ou]

#bringbacktheTREADS

[@michaeljbrennan3728]

That was not only enjoyable to watch. It was an amazing effort by all.

[@daveyoung6680]

Great video all, Emma is the boss though boys, you could see the game face towards the end. Can't believe you didn't wheel Dan out for this :-) Have a great Xmas

[@Rear4ssault]

I demand Jon Cannings on the next presenter challange, make use of his 1000 bikes

[@ceebee2]

I knew Emma would take it just by the way she climbs like a monster. Well done!!

[@LaughingSaint66]

Si’s honesty was so refreshing I used to feel same way after long out of saddle climbs 🤙🏼🕺🏼💪🏽

[@andycorso8498]

Broke my saddle once 20k from home......so I know what it feels like, funny enough I found freewheeling the toughest part.

[@AEDumit]

Similar, my seatpost clamp broke some 12K from home. Was tough

[@ElonMuckX]

Saw a guy do 50 miles (Rosarito to Ensenada), on a mountain bike with no seat and no post. He had this big cork in his seat plug. Said he never sat when he rode his bike. With a couple of stops, he did the ride in 3.5 hours. Lots of people on the ride were amazed! Wish I had a pic of his bike.

[@RealMarcosMiranda]

Si pulling out the Emonda for this challenge. Nice!

[@mitchrapp9727]

Girls rock! Good job Emma!

[@julianhingsamer]

I just love you guys, so glad having you

[@johnstoneweetabix]

at about 10:25 onwards - is that one of the presenters in the background doing a 'bugger this, my shift ends now' and heading off home?

[@rp6760]

Missed Dan....on his e bike...

[@koko-lores]

doing a 20 minute track stand...

[@ocshot9136]

I enjoyed the video very much, well done! And congratulations to Emma, she won hands down 👍🚴🏽‍♂️. Greetings from California.

[@mathewadams2929]

Exceptionally entertaining. Top notch content.

[@ChrisCapoccia]

that was ollie's strategy… make sure he did the most distance out of the saddle by starting furthest back :D

[@evangrady8059]

Watching Emma ride is an absolute pleasure. Not only is it obvious she love to ride, but you can tell she is a monster on the pedals.

[@nathanphillips3628]

Emma clearly won! Pretty easy to see how she has World Championship bands!

[@jeremyboetger2934]

Great Job Emma! Way to show the boys up.

[@ajg624869]

Well done everyone - great effort and a most enjoyable watch.

[@blrun129]

Holy cow,that is impressive,I tend to glued to the saddle,think I need to change that

[@julmeissonnier]

Tried it today. Found out there is a huge difference between alternating 30 seconds in the saddle and 30 seconds out which comes naturally to me and not sitting at all. It was not pretty with some low RPM waving across the road at times, but I did it. In the process, I just gained even more respect for how Emma made it look so fluid...

[@javorgeorgiev6130]

It's a whole different kind of riding. Initially, my knees would give out first because I wasn't pedaling, I was stomping and hurting myself. Got a little better at it, weak arms and chest were the next problem. I would slouch over the front wheel, which made me go slower and sometimes spin in place when road grip worsened. It took me about a full year of climbing (and a bit of supplementary resistance training for the upper body) almost every day to get good enough to pull something like this off, be it not as fast as pro riders can. I don't think I have a particular preference for climbing position. As of late I've been riding at a gear hard enough to accelerate properly when I get up, but not impossible to pedal in while seated. Every gear shift up a climb is wasted time that could be saved. I can show no proof of that, but it sounds good.

[@icejunki]

As an overweight rider (trying to be less fat) I have weight working against me as well as fitness and power. My lactic acid starts to burn after 20 seconds. I might be able to pull off a minute on a big climb but by then I'd be ready to hurl. This just goes to show how much disparity there is between me and a pro. I commend you all for taking the Contador Challenge and for showing us it can be achieved.

[@chadjfischer]

at 7:55-8:02...next video is on how to get rid of creaks...

[@THEANPHROPY]

Thank you for the upload peeps :) shame Emma was not wearing a camera otherwise you could upload a training video and call it: "Emma's uphill race with sprint to finish" with a mention to her pacemaker during the first 13 minutes :)

[@znalniaskas]

I'm a simple guy, I see a stunning slopes of Falzarego/Valparola and the ruins of the castle Andraz and I like the video. That said, I actually think that most of the climb is to flat to climb it out of the saddle, only the final part up to the Valparola is so steep that it actually feels right to dance on the pedals.

[@TheRebuilt1]

It was impressive but I am not shocked the lightest person (Emm) had the easiest time of it. I'm more impressed with the heavy sprinter guy hanging that tough with the group. All of them are super fit so chapeau to the whole team.

[@amritangural8508]

Havent seen the video yet, but Emma is the best presenter for me. For anything.

[@massa_rob]

Mike Cotty (Col Collective videos) aka burning saddle, would easily win this

[@Mububban23]

That guy is a machine!!!

[@pauldamian2988]

Emma's smile is priceless!!!

[@ScottyCycles]

The longest out of the saddle climb I've done is 35-40 minutes on a 5% 10 miles climb. You definitely feel it in your quads and back later. I wish I could still climb like that!

[@hellostevevideo]

I love you guys. Awesome entertainment, motivation and class.

[@grahampage4988]

“I can’t feel my arms and I have a runny nose” was the best comment from Si! Hahahahaha.

[@edgarkarbach385]

It's all about specific training riding out of the saddle. I am a little bit handycapped (got a big leg muscle removed due to cancer 20 years ago) therefore one leg is 30% weaker than the good one while I am riding in the saddle. That was the reason I started regularly training riding out of the saddle to compete better on long hills. Finally I managed to ride whole passes (1 hour) completely out of the saddle. But it is true that the hard rate is slightly higher while riding out of the saddle because there are more and slightly other muscle groups involved and you have to carry your own weight instead of supporting it on the saddle.

[@Willjcbaker]

So GMBN has Cheese Grips™ and GCN has Banana Saddle™...

[@harsdensus88]

I feel you Chris.

[@alainpfammatter8224]

Love the banana trick. Great video 👍

[@jezclarke710]

I rode Wales in a Day last year and had to ride 35 miles out the saddle after my seatpost bolt snapped 💪 Kudos to the bike mechanic who had a spare bolt at the next feed station

[@kamolhengkiatisak1527]

Enjoy this episode. I saw Emma did Taiwan KOM 2 years ago when she won women's crown and knew then that she is a beast out of the saddle. I could do at most 1 minute as a senior citizen.

[@bikedawg]

Would like to know what technique would be best when out of the saddle peddling, e.g., are they simply stomping on the peddles or lifting one leg as the other goes down or are they peddling in circles???

[@v8nquish]

8:35 Her quads were red 🔥🔥🔥

[@narutoqweavatar]

I wonder why Dan and Tom weren't here. Did they chicken out?

[@douglaspate9314]

Where was Lloydy??

[@amranSK55]

this looks soooooo fun, cycling is a beautiful sport

[@julmeissonnier]

Very interesting. Got to try this. In the late 80's I spent about half of the climbs standing. At 61Kg for 1.76m that was pretty natural for me, but again that may also have to do with the gears and cadence we were using in climbs back then, which made sitting and spinning not really an option, so you had to alternate to both change a bit the muscle work and stand every time you had a steeper patch or your cadence was dropping too much....

[@mitchellwaygood8248]

You guys are awesome and always amaze me

[@leftymadrid]

Very very difficult to do without collapsing first!! Excellent job!! All of you :-) :-) :-) :-)